Confined
by lovestory121
Summary: VIn has to face his fear of being confined, whilst the others have to face their fear of possibly losing Vin.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing and all mistakes are mine. I'm apologising in advance for this one, I feel like I need to write but if I'm Vin my Chris just left for China so I'm kind of not with it at the moment.

Confined

Vin Tanner did not like to be confined. Chris figured this out when the fake marshal Yates had Tanner locked up in Four corner's jail before he was going to move him on to Tascosa. Vin had paced the perimeter of the cell nearly the entire time he was in there. Like some kind of tiger trapped in a cage, yearning for freedom and deadly in its desire to reach it. The others had noticed too, Vin never seemed to stay inside for very long, though none of the seven knew the reason behind it they had learnt to accept the fact that the Texan didn't like being anywhere even remotely small for long periods of time, just like they had learnt to accept JD's hat. This was the reason why the seven now desperately needed to get Vin out of his current predicament.

The Wilsons, a family living about an hour's ride out of town, had sent their eldest son into Four Corners to get help. The recent rain had caused a landslide and they wanted some help to try and repair their home. All seven had gone to help knowing that they worked best together and that if there was another landslide the farmers would need all the help they could get.

They had arrived less than an hour later. JD and Buck had 'argued' the entire journey about Buck's latest romantic conquest and Ezra, Nathan and Josiah had been talking animatedly about last night's poker game and how Ez had wiped them out…again. The view when they arrived cut off all conversation. The land that was owned by the farmers was half-buried under the mudslide, wooden shards from the fences were scattered among the debris along with various bits of the local landscape. The tree that had been next the barn had been knocked over by the force of the slide and had smashed through the barn roof. Several braches were all that could be seen, small clumps of green in a mountain of dark brown earth. It was a miracle that no one had been hurt. Thankfully the damage to the main house was superficial, so the Wilson's would at least have somewhere dry. They had unfortunately lost almost half of their livestock.

Mr and Mrs Wilson were at the bottom of the mountain of dislodged earth with their youngest son, Jimmy, trying to work out where their fences and out buildings had been before the entire area had been buried under the wave of mud. They turned at the sound of approaching horses and their faces spoke of unending gratitude. Mr Wilson was the first to express this verbally, "Thanks for coming out this far fellas, I don't think we can do this ourselves" with and easy grin Buck replied "Where do you want us to start Pard?"

By three that afternoon the seven plus Mr Wilson and his four sons had managed to cut the tree into smaller parts and move them out from the barn. The Wilson's had decided that they would rebuild the barn on the other side of the house, but that it would not require the seven's help. All they needed to do now was to find the well. Otherwise they would not have a water source around for nearly 3 miles. Vin and Jimmy set off to find the well whilst the others moved scavenged any usable bits of wood from the wreckage that used to be the barn.

"I think it's around here somewhere, we cover it with wooden planks to try and keep out some of the dust. Hopefully they didn't break and let the mud in. Digging a new well would sure be a pain." Vin nodded his agreement he didn't want to get roped into digging a well either, but they had been looking for the old one for nearly an hour and hadn't had any luck yet. It seemed to Vi n that the kid didn't even know where the well had been as all the places where they had dug looked random to him. They were on the seventh hole and all the others were sitting in the shade of the house when they finally found the well, Jimmy had turned excitedly to the others yelling and waving his arms when Vin first heard the faint creak of the wood they were standing on. The weight of the mud had weakened the boards and the boy's rapid and jerky movements weren't helping. Grabbing Jimmy's arm Vin attempted to spread their weight out.

Chris and the others looked up at Jimmy's yell and realised that they must have found the well, they were curious when Jimmy turned suddenly to look back at Vin and when Vin grabbed the boys arm. Both figures froze and this was when the seven realised something was wrong, standing as one they rushed towards Vin. Chris' eyes met Vin's when the boards finally gave was and the fear that Chris saw caused him to lose his breath. Vin grabbed Jimmy, pulling him towards his chest, as the wood splintered beneath them, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy to protect him.

"Noooooo!" Chris and the others reached the well in time to hear the splash from the bottom.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing and all mistakes are mine.

Confined

It only took seconds for the bright sunshine to turn into partial darkness as Vin and Jimmy fell down the well. But it was not the darkness that bothered Vin, his time spent with the Kiowa's and Comanche's had taught him how to track, escape and attack in the dead of night, it was the lack of space. Before they'd even hit the bottom, his breath had caught in his throat and he was struggling to maintain his composure. Unconsciously tightening his grip on Jimmy, Vin took a deep breath and held it, in an attempt to both ward off his increasing panic and in case the water was deep enough for them to go under. The awkwardness of the fall meant that on several occasions the Texan came into contact with the well's brick wall, scraping his arms and legs and banging the back of his head hard enough to blacken his vision.

Following the sensation of pain and disorientation was the feeling of being completely submerged in the water, eyes wide open as the small circle of light at the top of the well became blurred through the murky water, feeling Jimmy squirm in his grasp the tracker kick viciously with his legs, propelling them both to the surface. The eerie silence of the water was broken as they both gasped for breath and the echoes of those above filtered down through the dark.

"Vin!" "Jimmy!" "Vin answer me damn it!" "Jimmy, son, are you okay?"

"Ma!"

"Jimmy! Jimmy you okay?"

"Fine Ma"

"Where's Vin?"

Shaking his head to try and clear the lingering spots of darkness from his vision, whilst at the same time treading water to keep both of them afloat Vin left it to Jimmy to reply.

"He's here Mr Larabee"

"Vin" it was Nathan's voice "you okay?"

"M'fine"

"Well that sure was convincing Vin" Buck's voice,

"Ma, it's cold and dark down here!"

"You hold on now Jimmy we're gunna get you outta there"

"Vin" Josiah this time "How deep is the water?"

Glancing at his young charge Vin saw scared brown eyes looking up at him.

"Can you touch the bottom Mr Vin? I can't I'm too small"

Using his arms to guide Jimmy's hands to the wall, Vin made sure the boy had a firm grip and wouldn't slip under without his support, before letting himself sink under the water. All at once the fear of being confined rocketed. The darkness of the water obscured everything around him but his arms could still feel the walls on either side of him, and he definitely couldn't touch the bottom. He could feel the fear eating away at him, ripping through his defences and gripping his soul.

_Have to get out have to get out_.

Spinning under the water, Vin tried to push himself upwards using the walls, but various mosses had made the walls slippery and he couldn't get a grip.

The silence after Josiah's question worried all those topside. Sharing an uneasy glance the other regulators called out again, wanting to make sure their missing member hadn't drowned.

"Vin?" Silence. Another glance "Vin?" Panic was evident in the voices this time as all six called simultaneously. "He's gone under" it was Jimmy, his fear making his voice shaky.

Kicking his legs violently, Vin managed to move upwards, hitting his legs against the wall only fuelled his claustrophobia and in his panic he opened his mouth swallowing a mouthful of water. After several seconds Vin's survival instincts overrode his fear for long enough for him to fight his way to the surface, gasping for air and spitting water. Wild eyes searching for a way out, anyway out.

"Vin!" the tracker physically jumped as the sound broke through the layers of terror and brought him with a jolt back to reality.

"Mr Tanner?" Ezra that voice was definitely Ezra. "Ez! I can't touch the bottom" Vin's fear was clear in his voice and it only took the gambler seconds to come to the conclusion that Vin was claustrophobic. He couldn't be worried about the water. Ezra had seen Vin jump into a rushing river to save a small child, and fight his way with the precious life in his arms back to the shore. There was little else to cause such fear down the well.

"Oh dear" all the others turned to look at the southerner, worry marking all their faces. "What Ezra?" "It appears our dear tracker is claustrophobic" "Claustra-wha?" Questioned JD, Nathan nodded, "That would make sense, we need to get them out of there, Mr Wilson do you have any rope?" "There were some coils in the barn" Josiah took off towards the barn without a word. Buck looked towards JD who was still trying to figure out what was going on, "Means he don't like small spaces kid" JD absently nodded his head, the new information adding up with things he's seen Tanner do and avoid.

Jimmy's grip on the wall faltered and he slipped under with a small whimper of fear. Vin reached under and grabbed him, pulling the boy back to the surface and again treading water to keep the both of them afloat, his bruised and scraped limbs protesting at the constant motion, breathing shallow and panicky. Mind flashing back to the past…

_Trapped, no way out, got to get out, laughter, horrible evil-sounding laughter, legs and arms kicking and punching, striking solid wood. Pain. Silence, the silence was the worst._

"Jimmy, Son there's a rope coming down now, I want you to tie it to yourself and then we're gunna pull you up okay?"

"Yes Pa"

The voices brought Vin back to the present and the realisation that the Wilson boy was still clinging to him gave him something other than the confines of the well to focus on.

"Ya hear that Jimmy, they're gunna get you out of here and everything's gunna be okay"

"Are you sure Mr Vin?"

"I give ya my word kid"

Seemingly accepting this, the boy looked up as a rope was lowered down.

"There it is!"

Jimmy reached up and got hold of the rope, handing it to Vin who took it and started to tie it around the boy's waist. Once he was sure it was secure, he looked Jimmy in the eye and tried to calm the unease he saw there. "Put your hands on the rope above you, it'll ease the pull off the rope on your waist and don't look back down keep your eyes on ya ma"

Jimmy nodded his head once, raised his hands to the rope but he kept his gaze on Vin who was still supporting him. "What's going to happen to you?"

"You don't worry about me little fella, ya just get yourself to ya Ma"

"Vin is the rope secure?" That was Nathan again, no doubt hoping that he could get the kid up top without him getting injured.

"Ready when you are Nate!"

Vin watched as Jimmy was lifted to safety, before his eyes drifted again to the walls of the well, the walls that were closing in. The darkness that was suffocating, he could no longer distract himself from his surroundings by using the welfare of the kid, and he was tiring, his muscles were burning, after spending the day helping to fix up the ranch and digging several holes to find the well that he was now stuck down, he didn't know how much longer he could keep treading water. His head was starting to hurt from where he'd whacked it, but even the physical pain and fatigue he was feeling couldn't cancel out the fear.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing and all mistakes are mine. Sorry this chapter took longer to upload than the others, I got distracted by stuff.

Confined

"Vin? You still with us Junior?"

The voice echoed down the well, but the words were lost on Vin Tanner. He was caught in memories, nightmarish memories that had their claws in too deep for him to break free.

Buck looked up from the well and towards the others, "Well the lantern is lit but I don't think anyone's home"

Jimmy was now bundled up in several blankets and wrapped tightly in the arms of his mother. He looked up at the remaining seven as they discussed Vin and added his two cents to the conversation.

"Mister Chris?"

The gunslinger looked over to Jimmy and nodded his head to show that he heard.

"It's dark and cold down there and deep too, Mr Vin was tired and he was stopping me from sinking, I think you should get him up now, mama has spare blankets and I'm sure she won't mind will u mama?"

Without acknowledging Jimmy any further Chris turned and swiftly walked back to the well.

"Vin, we're gunna get you out now tie the rope to yourself, understand pard?"

Faintly he heard a confused reply, "too…tired…can't…dark…Chris?"

Realising what the implications of the words meant Chris leapt into action, quickly tying the rope to himself ad barking out orders. "Josiah, Buck, Ezra, JD hold the rope, lower me down and then pull us up when I give the signal, one tug more rope, two tugs, get us the hell out. Nathan, get our blankets and sleeping rolls!"

He then quickly started to climb down the well towards the struggling form of Vin at the bottom.

He was halfway down when Vin seemed to stop struggling entirely and disappeared from view.

"Buck! Hurry up! Vin's gone under!"

All of a sudden the rope loosened considerably and Chris practically fell the rest of the way, landing with a splash and going under himself. He could barely see anything in the murkiness of the water. Surfacing again he tugged once on the rope, "Give me more slack I can't find him!"

Taking a deep breath Chris dove under again, feeling his way through the gloomy depths of the well.

_How long has he been under now? Did he even hold his breath? I can't see a thing!Damn it Vin!_

After what felt like hours of feeling along the wall, hands encountering the solid texture of the stones, Chris felt something give under his hand, _VIN! _Reaching both hands out around the object the gunslinger found that it was Vin, his buckskin jacket dragging him down, wrapping an arm around the trackers still form, Chris tugged the rope twice, and felt the rope jerk as it was pulled taut by the others. After a few seconds they broke the surface and Chris gasped in a deep breath, his own so loud he didn't know whether Tanner had taken a breath or not.

When they were free of the water, the tracker's limp form started to slip from the gunslingers grasp. Wrapping his other arm around the lean frame he tightened his grip. Vin's head slumped forward to land on his shoulder, and Chris thanked God when he felt the faint puffs of air against his neck.

When they were near the top of the well, Josiah leaned in and took Vin from Larabee's grip. Buck, JD and Ezra made short work of pulling Chris up, but by the time they had Nathan had Vin wrapped up in the saddle blankets of all seven of them and laid out on some bed rolls. Vin was still unconscious.

"Nathan?"

The healer looked up at the men crowding around him and his patient. The looks on their faces told him everything, in the short time that the seven had been riding together that had all found the missing pieces of themselves. JD had found the role models he needed and the family to replace his mother, Josiah had found the flock to steady out his need to search for his crows, Buck had found a surrogate younger brother in JD and he'd got Chris back with interest, Ezra, god knows what Ezra had found in the rest of them but Nathan had seen the changes in the man, Chris had found a reason to live, Nathan had found people who accepted him and stood up for him despite the colour of his skin.

Jackson didn't know what Vin had found, the tracker spoke so little of his past that it seemed that no one knew anything about him, it seemed obvious that his dark past haunted him, his fear in the well proof of the torments that had been inflicted on one so young , it shocked Jackson when he found out that Vin was only a couple of years older than JD, he looked an age older, but the healer had come to the conclusion that Vin seemed old because he had been through so much. But he appeared to have found a life-line in Chris, and damned if Nathan was gunna let him lose that now. Realising that he still hadn't answered Nathan raised his eyes to Chris.

"He's got some cuts and bruises from fallin' down, big lump on his head, musta hit it hard, swallowed some water, he should cough it up when he comes to, it's not the obvious injuries I'm worried about"

Chris raised an eyebrow in question but it was Josiah who answered, "Sometimes scars are left on the inside rather than the outside, brother Vin seems to have enough of both for all of us."

JD spoke up at this "But he always seems so…so…calm" his voice rising in pitch as he tried to get across how Vin appeared to him. In a strange show of affection Ezra placed his hand on Dunne's shoulder, "Mr Tanner has an excellent poker face, just not when it comes to poker."

Chris turned back to the Wilson's "I believe we are done here" Mr Wilson nodded, "We can take it from here Mr Larabee, plus we have one of our own that needs tending to"

Jimmy vigorously shock his head, "Mr Vin got hurt not me, he kept me safe"

Chris tipped his hat to the family before turning to the others. Understanding his silent order all five packed up their stuff, loading it onto their mounts quickly and efficiently.

Nathan spoke up again as soon as he had finished. "It's quite a ride back ta Four Corners, think Vin should ride with each of us for a little while, make sure the horses don't tire."

Chris absently nodded his head, watching, almost blankly, as Josiah passed Vin up to JD. The thought that it was a good think that Vin was fairly small popped into his head as he watched the youngest of the seven wrap one arm around the sharpshooter and picked up his reins with the other.

It was gunna be a long ride back.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing and all mistakes are mine.

Confined

JD kept his grip on Vin tight as they rode away from the Wilson homestead, worried at the fact that the tracker remained, limp and silent throughout the trip. Not liking the silence JD didn't even realise when he started talking, quietly at first.

"You gotta be okay Vin, I know you won't let something like this effect you, your one of the strongest people I know, and who would help me mess with Buck?" After a pause JD again started talking but this time louder, and not about Vin, he spoke of the weather and the fishing trip he'd planned with Casey. But his tight grip on Vin never relented. Whilst he talked a mile-a-minute, JD's thoughts were really on other things. He knew without a doubt that if Vin left, the entire seven would disband, if any of them left permanently, they would disband, and JD wasn't ready for them to go their separate ways yet. By the time it came for Ezra to take Vin, JD had practically told him his life story, without even knowing the words had left his mouth. Throughout Vin had remained still and cold as a marble statue.

Ezra pulled up next to JD and between the two of them they managed to transfer Vin over into the gambler's care. Like JD Ezra was one to use words to hide his true emotions but he used extravagance and subterfuge, long words that the others struggled to decipher and a poker face that was used in and out of his regular games. Like JD the gambler wrapped one arm around the tracker's waist, before spurring his horse forwards. It surprised him that Vin had been willing to accept him so eagerly, had been so willing to accept all of them. He would easily have dismissed the younger man for his appearance. Even when he was in town the Texan seemed to like wearing his buckskin coat and his tan clothing. It several months until Ezra understood why, he prided himself on being able to judge the character of others and knowing how to predict their moves, Tanner had kept him guessing for a while but he finally came to the conclusion that, like him, Vin was hiding. Not by using words, Vin definitely had a way with words but the man spoke directly and shortly, not saying a single word that didn't need to be said. He was hiding physically, in clothes that blended in to the scenery, in the way that he could move like a ghost, in a way that made Standish almost protective of him. Speaking directly for once the southerner spoke softly to Vin, "I do not know what it is you are hiding from my friend, but I swear I will be by your side should it ever find you." To his surprise Vin sighed softly as if accepting the promise and continued to slumber, propped up against him.

Josiah took Vin off Ezra at the next stop. The big preacher's body making Tanner look tiny slumped against him. But he moved with him off Ezra's horse and onto his own with a caring gentleness that belied his size. Being the oldest of the seven, he felt that it was his responsibility to guide them, offer them wisdom and encouragement when they needed it, and fight with them or for them when that was also needed. He had never really thought of himself as a comfort giver though, not in the literal sense anyway. But he found that he quite liked the idea of being able to provide comfort without having to talk. He didn't really know what he could say in this situation. Vin was obviously flashing back to some of the harsher parts of his young life, and Josiah knew first hand that battling demons of the past was not easy. He hadn't wanted the others to know about his sister, as it was only Vin knew, but keeping something like that a secret wasn't good for him, maybe it would be the same with Vin, if he could get the young Texan to talk about what happened, maybe his demons would lessen their hold, like the preacher's own had. "I know you kept all your problems and feelings close to your heart son, but if you need to talk about anything, or just want some company, I'm just letting you know that, I'll always make time for that, always make time for you, you saved me from my demons, least I can do is repay the favour"

Buck took over next. Like Josiah he was larger than Vin and could easily accommodate the slight tracker. He too started to talk, softly, but he could feel some of the tension leave the body in his arms as his voice broke the silence. "Well Junior you've gone and got yourself hurt again huh? Seems to be becoming a regular thing with ya, reckon you need to learn to look out for yourself a bit more rather than everyone else first, I think you nearly gave Chris a heart attack Pard, damn near scared the life outta me too, hell I reckon you caused all of us to skip a heartbeat or two." He shifted his hold as Vin shifted in his grasp, seemingly becoming agitated as he moved towards consciousness. With a suddenness that caught Buck of guard, Vin started to cough, deep hacking coughs that expelled some of the swallowed water from the well. Pulling his horse to a stop Buck hollered for Nathan and positioned Vin so he wouldn't choke of the liquid, after a couple of seconds Vin went limp again and all the coughing stopped. Nathan had pulled his mount closer as soon as the coughing started, and he met Buck's eyes. "That's a good thing, it means he's expelling the water from his lungs, should breathe easier now" Buck responded by tightening his grip. "Hang in there Junior, we'll get you home, you just listen to Buck, ya hear"

Chris took Vin next. Not saying anything. They hardly needed words to communicate what was the point in talking now, when Vin could likely not hear him anyway? So he just gripped Vin tight and rode. They were near Four Corners now and the whole ordeal would soon be in the past. At least that's what Chris hoped would happen, Tanner was notorious in their group for being fiercely independent and not accepting help until he'd fallen flat on his face. He had told Chris within days of meeting him about the bounty so maybe he would talk about the resurfacing memories and trauma of being stuck in the well. 'Yeah' thought the gunslinger, 'and one of these days he'll tell us that his shoulder is dislocated rather than walking around with it waiting for the opportunity to re-locate it himself' he snorted at that. It wasn't very likely.

They arrived at Four Corners a little while later. Vin was carried to the clinic and the others all crowded into the room. Spending the night cramped together but nearby when Vin's nightmares surfaced. At first it was subtle movements, head rolling from side to side and hands clenching. They thought he was coming round, so they all gathered around, just in time to hear a low, "No" coming from the blanket covered figure. Vin awoke after several minutes, glancing around the room wildly, before exhaustion again claimed him. This happened several times before the others could take it no more. All six swapped glances, before five questions were directed at Nathan. "What do we do?" "Do we proceed to awaken Mr Tanner?" "How do we help?" The healer held up a hand at the others and silence fell again. "He obviously has some bad memories that being confined in that well brought up, knowing Vin he'll bury them, but that might not be for the best, I saw a fella in the war, terrified of thunder, lost his whole family in a storm, he froze on the battlefield as soon as he heard the thunder, caught a bullet between the eyes." JD paled, but Sanchez nodded "Fear is a powerful thing"

To the surprise of all in the room, it was Vin's voice who answered, "I y'all are only trying to help, but ain't nothin' you can say ta make this better"

All eyes in the room turned to focus on Vin. Josiah lent forward and placed a hand on the tracker's shoulder, "We don't have to say anything, we just want you to know that if you want to talk we'll listen, talking about the past is sometimes the only way to make the hurt attached to it dissipate, like with Hannah"

Vin looked up and met the gaze of the preacher, nodded almost imperceptibly before looking away again, and Josiah knew they'd only get the barest of details. JD looked to Buck and mouthed 'Hannah?' Buck shrugged in response.

"Y'all probably know I lost my ma when I was a little fella, was put in an orphanage shortly after she died, man who owned it weren't very nice, used to beat on the kids iffen we did something wrong, also had a…a" he trailed off and the others looked away letting him compose himself. Chris placing his hand on Vin's other shoulder, relaying his silent support.

"Had him a small cellar, just big enough for a barrel, never kept a barrel down their though, used to put the 'bad' kids down there, I'se down there a lot, used to stick up for myself, never let the bigger kids, steal my food, nor nothing else of mine, always ended in a fight, always ended with me in the cellar." He shuddered lightly, before looking at the others, seeing the anger on their faces he almost smiled, these six men hadn't known him for all that long but they were taking on his demons with him. Whatever he'd done to deserve brothers like them he didn't know. Sighing he continued his tale. "Was always musty and pitch black, made it hard to breathe, he'd leave you down there for days, till you thought you'd never see sunlight again, used to laugh as he threw ya down too" soon as he let me out one time, I snapped, punched him in the face as he lifted me out, and ran, dunno where I was going just had ta get away, kept on running for several days, just stopping to catch my breath, that was when I met up with the Comanche's, they took me in made me one of their own"

"How old were you when you ran away?" it was JD's voice that broke the silence after Vin's tale.

"I don't know" "DON'T KNOW!" "Yup" It was Chris' turn to speak next "Pard, do you know how old you are now?" "Nope, Kiowa's reckon I was 18 when I left them to go Buffalo hunting, did that two years, maybe three bounty hunting" "That only makes you 23" "Sounds 'bout right" "But that's only a year older than me"

"It doesn't matter how old you are or were Vin, we're just glad you're with us" It was Chris speaking again. Vin nodded unable to find words.

Ezra, sensing the sharpshooters, embarrassment all the attention and not finding the words he wanted, looked up from staring at the floor and saw the weariness in Vin's posture, getting himself comfortable in a chair he addressed the room, "Seems to me like Mr Tanner had told us all we need to know and we should all be getting some rest." Vin nodded his thanks to Ezra and once more drifted off content to have the others watching his back. Each of them settled around the room, on various pieces of furniture.

That was how Mary found them in the morning, when she noticed the horses were in the livery. Chris, Vin and Ezra were all tangled on the bed, Nathan and Josiah were on their bedrolls on the floor, Buck had pushed two chairs together and was sleeping on both of them and JD was on the other chair with his legs hanging over one of the arms.

Smiling to herself at the picture of innocence the seven made, she backed out of the room and silently closed the door. Vin was the only one who woke at her intrusion, finding Ezra's legs over his and one of Chris arms above his head he smiled. He was still confined, trapped between the stray limbs of the others, but this didn't make him panic, instead he lowered his head to the pillow and let sleep take him again.

End

Sorry for the long wait for the upload. Hope you guys enjoy it.


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